Kyiv, 3 December 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said today he has accepted an offer from the World Bank for a $60 million loan to help fight AIDS and tuberculosis in Ukraine. Ukraine's Health Ministry said this month that more than 60,000 residents of Ukraine are officially registered as having AIDS. Other studies estimate that 500,000 people in Ukraine are HIV-positive.

Tuberculosis cases in Ukraine have doubled in recent years to nearly 700,000 and the death rate from the disease is rising.